1. Alabama Virtual Library
December 1, 1999

2. What is the Alabama Virtual Library?
A collection of scholarly, essential, electronic information resources
Accessed through the Internet
school libraries and classrooms
public libraries
colleges and universities
remote authentication

3. Goals of the AVL Equity Economy Excellence
every student, teacher and citizen will have online access to current core of information
Economy
statewide licenses offer significant savings
Excellence
appropriate, accurate/reliable, scholarly, up-to-date information

4. AVL Partners Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Post-Secondary Education
Alabama Public Library Service
Alabama State Department of Education
Alabama Supercomputer Authority

5. How is it funded? Special Education Trust Fund
$3,000,000 appropriated by the Alabama Legislature for FY 2000
APLS serves as the fiscal agent for the AVL
Funds
Special Education Trust Fund
Budget signed by the Governor in June
Funding began on October 1, 1999
First databases were available in August

6. How was it created? Years of work Grassroots effort
AETC provided the venue
Coalition of state agencies and associations
1998 “seed money” to develop the project
Grassroots effort
post cards
video tape
Legislative advocates

7. How is the AVL governed? Under the legal authority of APLS
“Council” appointed by agency heads
3 members from each agency
Bylaws
Committees

8. How is the money used? License databases online encyclopedias almanacs
indexes
full text of online books and magazines
Training
Set up and maintain hardware and software
NO FUNDS FOR STAFF!!

9. http://www.avl.lib.al.us Where is the AVL?
Alabama Supercomputer Authority

10. How do I use the AVL? Go to the web site Log on Explore
Passwords through December
Explore
Each database is unique; try them all
Attend training
Train the Trainer sessions have been underway since September

11. What does this mean for our schools?
AVL will provide teachers and students with accurate, up-to-date information
AVL makes information available at the desktop
AVL allows teachers in the poorest and most rural schools to have access to the same information as everyone else

12. School library example (1998 survey)
average number of print magazine subscriptions per school is 11
2000+ magazines now available through AVL
average age of science books in school libraries in Alabama is 19 years
AVL resources are current
73% of school libraries have access
“dial up” access must not be the standard
goal is 100% high speed, LAN connectivity

13. What does this mean for school libraries?
The role of the school media specialist is critical to the success of AVL
AVL contains only reference resources
AVL resources allow for the use of library enhancement funds to develop the school collection for use by all

14. How can I learn more about the AVL?
Log onto the Alabama Supercomputer Authority’s web site:
Join the AVL discussion list

15. AVL Databases

16. How are the databases selected?
Emphasis on support for education
Applies to a broad base of AVL users
Reliable, quality database information
Content represents a good value
Pre-existing user base

17. What databases have been selected?
EBSCOHost
Electric Library
SIRS Knowledge Source
OCLC FirstSearch
Grolier Online
Bell+Howell ProQuest
Encyclopedia Britannica

18. EBSCOHost includes Academic Search Elite
support the core curriculum, degree requirements, and elective classes
provides journal coverage for most academic areas of study
features full text for over 1230 journals with many dating back to 1990

19. Business Source Elite
compiles the research and perspectives from leading business thinkers
rich collection of popular business magazines, scholarly journals, and trade publications
full text for over 925 journals

20. Business Source Elite
compiles the research and perspectives from leading business thinkers
rich collection of popular business magazines, scholarly journals, and trade publications
full text for over 925 journals

21. Health Source Plus
authoritative source for information on health-related questions
topics covered include medical sciences, psychology, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine, health care law and general health
over 255 full text journals

22. ERIC
citation and abstract information from over 750 educational journals
full text ERIC Digest records
Especially for younger kids

23. Professional Development Collection
Professional education resources on everything from children’s health and development to cutting-edge theory and practice
searchable full text for over 240 journals

24. Newspaper Source
delivers more than half a million articles to the desktop
full text of The Christian Science Monitor
abstracts and indexing of the NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today
abstracts from NY Times Magazine and NY Times Book Review

25. Vocational Search
offers industry-specific information from trade-related journals, reviews and newspapers
designed for vocational and technical curriculums
full text articles, reports, and special issues from 150 industry and trade journals

26. Designed for the novice user, but powerful enough for an experienced researcher
Variety of resources including newspaper, TV & radio transcripts, maps & other images
Allows for the retrieval of age appropriate resources

27. Knowledge Source SIRS Discoverer SIRS Researcher
interactive reference tool for young readers
each article is assigned a reading level category
SIRS Researcher
general research information on social, scientific, health, history, business, and political issues

28. Knowledge Source SIRS Renaissance Government Reporter
current perspectives on the arts and humanities
Government Reporter
wide range of information published by and about the federal government, i.e. Supreme Court decisions, directories, information on Congress, etc

29. OCLC Union List of Periodicals
OCLC WorldCat
37,000,000 bibliographic records
370 languages
OCLC Union List of Periodicals
7 million library specific holdings
750,000 periodicals in WorldCat
Other OCLC databases

30. Grolier MultiMedia Encyclopedia New Book of Knowledge
Grades 5 and up (middle school)
New Book of Knowledge
Grades 3 and up (elementary school)
Encyclopedia Americana
Grades 7 and up (high school and junior college)

31. Research Abstracts II PrQuest Gold JuniorQuest KidsQuest high school
middle school
KidsQuest
elementary

32. Full text of most authroitatie encyclopedia
Other EB services
Free vs. Fee Britannica service

33. What’s next for the AVL? Additional databases
Access to government and other free information
Recurring appropriation to maintain AVL
Training and use are critical
Thank the legislature!